Holiday destinations: Universal Orlando Resort, Florida, USA

November 22, 2019September 16, 2021Leave a comment

I have recently visited Universal Orlando Resort with my husband. It is based in Orlando in Florida (USA).

Universal Orlando consists of three theme parks:

Universal Studios Florida,
Universal’s Islands of Adventure,
Universal’s Volcano Bay water theme park.

If you like theme parks then you will love Universal resorts as it brings yours and your children stories, myths, cartoons and tales to life. As we were in the resort only for a day we decided to visit only 2 out of 3 parks.

Firstly, we made our way to Universal’s Islands of Adventure. This park consists of lots of theme specific attractions such as:

‘Skull Island: Reign of Kong’ – multi-dimensional, interactive ride on a mysterious island.

‘Marvel Super Hero Island’ – where you can find attraction such as The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (3D thrill ride) , The Incredible Hulk Coaster (high-speed roller coaster) or a Doctor Doom’s Fearfall.

‘Toon Lagoon’ with a range of water rides.
‘Jurassic Park’ where dinosaurs have been brought back to life.

‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade’ where you can walk around the Hogwarts castle, visit the shops of Hogsmeade and enjoy some more exciting rides.

As we had a Park-to-Park admission ticket, we were able ride the Hogwarts Express train from Universal Islands of Adventure to jump in to the 9 and 3/4 platform at Kings Cross in London. As I love the Harry Potter movies, it was a great experience as I was able see characters and creatures from the movies whilst commuting between the parks.

Once we disembarked the train, we were at the Universal Studios Florida. This second amusement park consists of many picture and television studios where guests can experience films and TV shows at the variety of locations. There were many attractions to enjoy and these were my favourite ones:

‘Production Central’ where you can experience TRANSFORMERS: The Ride-3D, Shrek 4-D or Despicable Me Minion Mayhem.
‘New York’ where you can experience a thrilling Revenge of the Mummy the Ride or party with the The Blues Brothers.
World Expo where you can take the rides with the characters from The Simpsons or shoot some aliens on a MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack ride.

To sum up, we had an unforgettable day full of adventure experiencing many cutting edge and interactive rides. If you are looking for spectacular entertainment for the whole family then you should definitely visit Orlando Resort. In addition, there are many on-site hotels and eateries for an endless fun. I would definitely recommend to visit for a few days though. Although we had an amazing day, our visit felt rushed as we were running from one attraction to another. I will definitely visit this resort again however next time I will stay for a few days to enjoy it fully.

For more information visit:

https://www.universalorlando.co.uk/

Pauline

Holiday destinations: Hillwood, Washington D.C., USA

August 16, 2019September 16, 2021Leave a comment

As some of you might know, I traveled to Washington D.C. a few weeks ago. During my stay, I decided to visit some historic homes and gardens. Today, I would like to tell you about my visit to Hillwood Estate, Museum and Garden.

Museum

Marjorie Merriweather Post bought Hillwood in 1955. She was a daughter of Ella Merriweather Post and Charles William (C.W.) Post, who founded the Post cereal empire. She decided that she would like her home to become a museum:

“I want young Americans to see how someone lived in the twentieth century and how this person could collect works of art the way I have… I want to share this with the rest of the world.”
—Marjorie Merriweather Post

Her estate holds the most comprehensive collection of Russian imperial art outside of Russia, a distinguished eighteenth-century French decorative art collection, and twenty-five acres of serene landscaped gardens and natural woodlands for all to enjoy. It was firstly opened as a public institution in 1977 to inspire and educate the public.

Gardens:

Marjorie designed the gardens to flower in the spring and fall however nowadays they are open to public all year round.

Visitors can walk through some beautiful paths that lead them to:

Rose Garden
Four Season Garden
Japanese Style Garden
French Parterre
Lunar Lawn

Location:
4155 Linnean Avenue,
NW Washington, DC 20008

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

Holiday destinations: Heurich House, Washington D.C., USA

July 19, 2019September 16, 2021Leave a comment

As some of you might know, I traveled to Washington D.C. a few weeks ago. During my stay, I decided to visit some historic homes and gardens. Today, I would like to tell you about the Heurich House Museum known also as the Brewmaster’s House.

Heurich house 1

The Heurich House Museum is a well-preserved Victorian mansion previously owned by Christian Heurich, a German immigrant that left his country to start a new life in Washington, DC. It is located near the trendy Dupont Circle.

The Heurich House Museum.as built from 1892-94 by German immigrant, local brewer Christian Heurich (1842-1945). He lived with his family in Dupont Circle from its 1894 until 1956. He was terrified of fires and the mansion is notable for its fireproof construction. It has original interiors that still look amazing due to the shade and lower temperature of the house.

The Heurich House Museum offers guided tours that last approximately 1 hour on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. I’ve joined a tour on Saturday and it was great to learn about the history of the house, its owner and what currently happens there. We walked through the rooms with a knowledgeable guide and admired lots of beautiful antics inspired by French style.

What I found interesting was that the Heurich House Museum, runs a monthly History & Hops event every third Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30pm. During that events the museum partners with a local beer insider for house tours and beer tastings so if you enjoy trying some local beers then you should definitely book yourself in on one of these evenings.

I loved the quotes that were displayed in a drinking room of the owner where he would meet up with a group of friends to try his locally-brewed beer.

Heurich house 10

Address:

Heurich House Museum

1307 New Hampshire Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20036

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

Holiday destinations: New York, USA

December 7, 2018September 16, 2021Leave a comment

I have recently traveled to the USA with my husband for our autumn / winter holidays. Our first stop was New York City. It is the most densely populated city in the USA and it has a population of 8.5 million. New York City is one of the most famous cities worldwide and it has been described as the cultural, financial and media capital of the world. New York City consists of five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island. I have recently read that there 800 languages are spoken in New York, which makes it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.

Many districts and landmarks in New York City are well known and 61 million tourists visited the city in 2016. There are many places worth visiting in New York. Please find a quick summary listed below:

Empire State Building – a perfect way to see the city’s major highlights from the highest building in New York.

Statue of Liberty – a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City.

Grand Central Terminal – beautiful train station with a wide range of shops and eateries to relax in.

Fifth Avenue – a famous shopping street with a range of boutique and high-street brands where you can shop until you drop.

Times Square – exciting and colorful square that just cannot be missed. Sometimes referred to as the Crossroads of the World.

Rockefeller Center (Top of The Rock experience) – an observatory on top of Rockefeller Center, with great city views.
National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey – amazing entertainment experience in the heart of Times Square which uses ground-breaking technology that takes its attendees on a journey into the ocean. It is super interactive with escaping sea creatures and underwater maze. A perfect destination for a day out with a family especially if you have kids as everyone can experience being face-to-face with whales and sharks, squids or sea lions.

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum – an American military and maritime history museum. I especially enjoyed learning more about the Space Shuttle ‘Enterprise’ – the first space shuttle, a Cold War-era submarine Growler and British Airways Concorde, the world’s fastest commercial jet that can take passengers from London to New York in under 3 hours.